Air New Zealand Unveils Brand New Cabins on B787
Air New Zealand Unveils Brand New Cabins on B787

Air New Zealand Unveils Brand New Cabins on B787

Air New Zealand’s new B787 Dreamliners will offer a new Business Premier Luxe suite, Business Premier seat and the world’s first Skynest; a lie-flat economy class option. The new B787 will be delivered in 2024 with these new cabin designs.

The airline claim it will offer the most choice out of any airline in its three cabins to get the best sleep in the sky.

Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran points to the airline’s ambition to create the greatest flying experience and says the new cabin, combined with world-leading Kiwi hospitality, is the winning formula.

“New Zealand’s location puts us in a unique position to lead on the ultra-longhaul travel experience. We have zeroed in on sleep, comfort, and wellness because we know how important it is for our customers to arrive well-rested."

Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran
a blue and white poster with text and images

Unique Cabin/Zone on New B787

The eight Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners arriving from 2024 and retrofitted current 787-9 fleet will come in 2 different configurations:

Config 1

  • 8 Business Premier Luxe
  • 42 Business Premier
  • 52 Premium Economy
  • 125 Economy
  • 6 Skynest Sleep pods (on ultra-long haul)

Config 2

  • 4 Business Premier Luxe
  • 22 Business Premier
  • 33 Premium Economy
  • 213 Economy
  • 6 Skynest Sleep pods (on ultra-long haul)

Air New Zealand Boeing 787 Dreamliner will offer the following cabin/zone (up to 7 different products):

Business Premier Luxe

All the features of Business Premier with a fully closing door and space for two to dine.

a woman standing next to a man in an airplane
a woman sleeping in a plane

Business Premier

Standard all-aisle access flat bed Business Class.

a seat and a monitor in an airplane

Premium Economy

Skynest for Economy Passengers

For Economy customers, the Skynest concept, first announced in 2020, will be a world-first.

“We wanted to offer our Economy customers a lie-flat option and that’s how Skynest was born. It’s going to be a real game-changer for the economy travel experience.”

Chief Customer and Sales Officer Leanne Geraghty says the cabin’s interior design is inspired by the uniqueness of Aotearoa, from the forest inspired carpet to the seats that draw inspiration from New Zealand’s native bird, the Tui.

Skynest - lie-flat bed option for economy passengers on Air New Zealand
Skynest - lie-flat bed option for economy passengers on Air New Zealand
Skynest - lie-flat bed option for economy passengers on Air New Zealand
Skynest - lie-flat bed option for economy passengers on Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand will also offer these Economy products; Economy Skycouch, Economy Stretch and standard Economy seat on the B787 fleet from 2024.

Economy Skycouch on Air New Zealand
Economy Skycouch on Air New Zealand
Economy Stretch on Air New Zealand
Economy Stretch on Air New Zealand

The airline mentioned that the new economy seat is designed with more storage, comfort and space and a 50% bigger screen for entertainment. Connect to Bluetooth audio and pair your device to act as a remote control or second screen.

The airline has also added a Sky Pantry to the Premium Economy and Economy cabins, so customers can stretch their legs, grab a bite to eat and hydrate at their leisure throughout their journey.

Air New Zealand to relaunch 14 international routes in 16 days

Air New Zealand is gearing up for the busiest July in two years with the relaunch of 14 international routes in 16 days.

DestinationCommencing fromFrequency Jul-Oct
Honolulu4 July3 per week
Tahiti6 July2 per week
New Caledonia6 July2 per week
Houston7 July3 per week
Adelaide6 July3-4 per week
Cairns5 July3 per week
Hobart7 July2 per week
Sunshine Coast9 July2 per week
Christchurch  
Gold Coast3 July4-2 per week
Nadi5 July3-2 per week
Wellington  
Nadi5 Jul3-2 per week
Queenstown  
Brisbane24 June4-3 per week
Melbourne24 June7-6 per week
Sydney25 June9-5 per week

With these routes back in action, the airline will be operating 60 percent of its international capacity – the most international flying in the last two years.

From 9 July, the airline will have three quarters of its international and domestic routes back up and running with popular destinations like Honolulu, Houston and Tahiti restarting after around 820 days of not operating.

The Boeing 777-300 aircraft will also be back-flying passengers, helping towards the addition of around 40,000 seats per week in July on the international network. Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran says it takes a village to get the airline back up and running and is incredibly proud of the sheer amount of work the team at Air New Zealand has put in to get to this moment.

“To bring one Boeing 777-300 out of storage in Auckland takes around six to eight weeks to get it ready for the skies. We’ve hired or rehired more than 2,000 Air New Zealanders across the business including 150 pilots, more than 500 cabin crew, and 270 airport employees, with another 1100 vacancies to be filled. It’s no easy feat but we’re getting back to where we were so we can give our customers that Air New Zealand service they know and love,” Foran said.